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Prospect Pyatt honored with OHL's Hanley Trophy

by
Staff Writer
/ New York Rangers

Tom Pyatt was honored on Wednesday with a trophy whose past winners include Wayne Gretzky and Kirk Muller.

On Wednesday, the Ontario Hockey League announced that Rangers prospect Tom Pyatt of the Saginaw Spirit won its prestigious William Hanley Trophy as the OHL's Most Sportsmanlike Player for the 2006-2007 season.

Selected by the Rangers in the fourth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Pyatt led the Spirit in scoring with 43 goals and 38 assists for 81 points, in 58 games this season. He also posted a plus-33 rating this season while totaling only 18 minutes in penalties. The 20-year-old native of Thunder Bay Ontario has recorded 94 goals, 106 assists for 200 regular season points during his four-year career with Saginaw.

Pyatt is currently playing for the Rangers' top minor-league affiliate, the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack. He joined Hartford immediately following Saginaw's exit from the OHL playoffs.

The William Hanley Trophy is awarded each year based on selection by the member teams of the Ontario Hockey League. The trophy is presented by the Ontario Hockey League to commemorate William Hanley, former Secretary-Manager of the Ontario Hockey Association for over 25 years.

In a first round of balloting, teams vote for the top player, within their own conference. The top three nominees from both the Eastern and Western conferences are declared as finalists. A second round of voting is then conducted on a league wide basis where teams vote for any of the six finalists. At no time during the voting process can a team vote for their own candidate. Players receive five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place vote and one point for a third place vote.

Pyatt received 45 points in the voting process – 18 points ahead of the second place finishers, who tied at 27.